Next time you are in the grocery store spend 2 minutes in the salad dressing isle and 2 minutes in the deodorant isle. Watch as consumers stand there and stare, overwhelmed by all the options. I bet that more than 50% of the time you will see a person reach to the left to grab an item, but stop short of picking it up and putting it in the cart; then they will reach right for a different item, yet again stopping short and not committing to the product. This process generally goes on for several cycles before they finally commit and grab an item and toss it in their cart.

This is the “wobble,” the consumer indecision brought on by having too many choices. Reach left, second guess the choice, reach right, and again second guess the choice (notice the wobbling “O” in the logo). The same thing happens online; how many times do you use the “back” button before you actually add an item to your cart?

I find myself constantly “wobbling” when making the most common purchases, ones that I make every week at the grocery store! For me, its salad dressing, deodorant, soap, chips, and beans; products I have purchased thousands of times. Should I risk buying something new, stick with what I know and like, or really go out on a limb and buy a generic labeled house brand.

You know what most often causes me to stop the vicious cycle of indecision and reaching left then right? Yep – it’s primarily the brand name of the product, with price being a distant second. This is true whether or not it is a brand name that I have even heard of.

The “wobble” is not limited to products on the shelves at a grocery store, it applies equally to services – and more so in some instances.

The Wobble™ naming service strives to reduce, or eliminate, the “wobble” so that consumers select your product or service; a.k.a. hobble the wobble (which happens to be our URL… catchy, right?). The name of a product or service is what makes the first impression to a consumer, and you have one shot to make a good first impression – so don’t screw it up!